The first journey of an ALMA antenna to the plateau of Chajnantor

An ALMA antenna begins the journey from the Operations Support Facility to the plateau of Chajnantor for the first time. The ALMA transporter vehicle carefully picks up the state-of-the-art antenna, with a diameter of 12 metres and a weight of about 100 tons, and begins the journey to the Array Operations Site, which is at an altitude of 5000 m. The antenna is designed to withstand the harsh conditions at the high site, where the extremely dry and rarefied air is ideal for ALMA’s observations of the universe at millimetre- and submillimetre-wavelengths.